Brakettes Open Season Friday Night

June 1, 2010 - The Stratford Brakettes open their 64th consecutive season of play Friday night against the Newtown Rock (PA) Gold at Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field. Game time is 7 p.m. The teams will meet again Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 12 noon.

Manager John Stratton once again has assembled a solid ballclub that will try to improve upon last year’s 49-7 overall record that saw the Brakettes finish fourth in the inaugural Women’s Major National Championship tournament at DeLuca Field.

"We lacked pitching depth last year, but that is our strength this season," said Stratton, who is assisted by his son Jay and Rich Roessner. Three Connecticut products will lead the Brakettes into action, ex-Masuk All-America Rachele Fico (7-0, 0.00), Durham’s Bailey Sanders (16-1, 1.02), a recent UMass graduate, and Sara Plourde of UMass and Bristol Eastern High School fame. Fico was 20-7 with a 1.15 ERA for nationally-ranked LSU this year, while Plourde set a UMasss record for strikeouts in a season with 556 as she compiled a 40-8 mark with a 1.30 ERA.

In addition to that trio, all of whom will play other positions to take advantage of their strong hitting, Stratton has added Kristin Erb, a two-time NCAA Division II Player of the Year at Lock Haven State University, and Baylor University sophomore lefty Whitney Canion. Erb set a Division II career record with her 168-18 record and was third in career strikeouts with 1,388. She played for the now-defunct Philadelphia Force of the National Pro Fastpitch League in 2009 and led the team in wins, ERA and innings pitched. Canion was expected to play last year, but a fractured arm prevented her. Canion, a 5-foot-11 lefty, went 5-3 with 79 strikeouts before she was forced to miss the remainder of the 2010 collegiate season at Baylor. She was granted a red-shirt year and she won’t be able to play for the Brakettes until the end of the College World Series (per NCAA compliance regulations).

Leading the returning positions players is veteran right-fielder Denise Denis, who notched a .406 average (67-for-165) and 58 RBI. She also tied the single-season home run record of 15. Team batting champion Carly Normandin (.434, 63-for-145), another recent UMass graduate, scored 49 runs, had 24 extra base hits and 41 RBI as the team leadoff hitter. Slapper Lindsey Kay Bright (.438) returns in left field. She recently had a super season for Fordham, which finished runnerup at the NCAA Oklahoma Regional.

Fully recovered from off-season back surgery is shortstop Mandie Fishback who still managed a .327 batting average with 28 RBI last year, while second baseman Ashley Waters (.353) hit 11 home runs and drove in 44 runs. Jess Serio (.333, 2 HR, 19 RBI) also returns behind the plate for the Brakettes, after recovering from a torn right labrum last season.

Third baseman Jess Mouse (.345, 38 RBI) will be joined by her sister Lyndsay Mouse, a coach at Ball State University, on the Brakettes roster. Mouse enjoyed another strong season at LSU, where she commited only two errors in 196 chances. Veterans Amber Radomski (infield/outfield) and Jill Cimminello (catcher/outfield) have also returned to the club.

The two newest members of the Brakettes are outfielder/second baseman Christine Della Vecchia, a freshman at UMass who saw action only as a pinch-runner this spring. Also, catcher/infielder Kristyn Sandberg of the University of Georgia (.353, 37 RBI) will join the club as soon as the NCAA College World Series concludes next week.

This will be the first appearance of the Newtown Rock Gold at DeLuca Field. The team is currently ranked No. 1 in Pennsylvania and they are one of the top Gold teams in the Northeast Region. The team is coached by Rick Waye and 11 of the 15 players are already committed to Division I programs.

BRAKETTES BRIEFS- Season tickets will be on sale throughout the weekend at DeLuca Field. Tickets are $100 for box seats, $80 for reserved with back rests, and $60 for first or third base bleachers. The second season ticket you purchase is half-price. . . For information on Brakettes special advertising rates, fund-raising banners, or Adopt a Brakette program, go to www.brakettes.com. . . The Brakettes are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible. . . Gates to DeLuca Field open at 6 p.m. Friday night. . . All youth league players who wear their uniform shirt will be admitted free of charge all year.